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continued on page 5 R ejoice January 2013 118 N. Washington St. Alexandria, VA 22314 www.HistoricChristChurch.org 703-549-1450 Do You Know The Questions of the Three Kings? By the Rev. Heather VanDeventer T he Feast of the Epiphany is the culmination of the Christmas season. This year it is both a feast day (January 6) and a Sunday. It begins the Season after the Epiphany. In some cultures, especially Hispanic, and branches of Christianity, Epipha- ny is also known as Three Kings Day. Epiphany, not Christmas Day, is the day when gifts are given, feasts and parties are had. This is to emulate the gift-giving of the kings, who tradition named Caspar, Melchior, and Balthazar. Many have heard before that those we call kings, and label as three, are not called kings in the Biblical text. They are called magi, or wise men, in the actual text in Matthew (2:1–12). They may have been astrologers, those who came to understand the ways and workings of the world through reading the stars and other portents. They observed a star that spoke of a new king for Israel and they came to meet and greet the new king. Perhaps these astrologers became kings over the centuries because generally it is kings who visit kings, not the hoi poloi (that is you and me). There came to be three because we read that three gifts were presented to the infant Jesus: gold, frankincense, and myrrh. But I think that we can understand that these magi, these wise men, these kings of the stars were not just seeking to bring new baby gifts. Time to Celebrate Our 240th Anniversary By Virginia Amos M ark your calendar now for Sun- day, February 10, when we will celebrate the 240th anniversary of Christ Church along with World Mis- sion Sunday. This activity-packed Sunday will feature specially-commissioned music, the Rev. Gay Jennings, President of the House of Deputies, as our guest preacher at a combined 10:00 a.m. service, reception, display of historic artifacts, and a special appearance from none other than George and Martha Washington. Read more about World Mission Sunday, February 10, on page 5. They saw something in that rising star that intrigued them, that caused questions in their hearts, and they felt compelled to seek the answers. If so, I imagine they might have been quite surprised to find the baby Jesus in an unremarkable house. Perhaps, however, finding Jesus was what made more sense than anything they found in King Herod’s palace. Dorothy Sayers, the British medie- valist, author, and Anglican, was also a playwright. She ponders the wise men’s questions in the first play of her cycle on the life of Jesus Christ, The Man Born to be King. When the three kings arrive at the inn where Joseph, Mary, and the infant Jesus are staying until Mary is well enough to travel, they each have MARY BETH BAYLOR PHOTO Christ Church children and youth presented a beautiful Christmas Pageant on December 16. A Yuletide feast and cookie exchange followed.

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RejoiceJanuary 2013

118 N. Washington St. ✠ Alexandria, VA 22314 www.HistoricChristChurch.org ✠ 703-549-1450

Do You Know The Questions

of the Three Kings?By the Rev. Heather VanDeventer

The Feast of the Epiphany is the culmination of the Christmas

season. This year it is both a feast day (January 6) and a Sunday. It begins the Season after the Epiphany. In some cultures, especially Hispanic, and branches of Christianity, Epipha-ny is also known as Three Kings Day. Epiphany, not Christmas Day, is the day when gifts are given, feasts and parties are had. This is to emulate the gift-giving of the kings, who tradition named Caspar, Melchior, and Balthazar.

Many have heard before that those we call kings, and label as three, are not called kings in the Biblical text. They are called magi, or wise men, in the actual text in Matthew (2:1–12). They may have been astrologers, those who came to understand the ways and workings of the world through reading the stars and other portents. They observed a star that spoke of a new king for Israel and they came to meet and greet the new king.

Perhaps these astrologers became kings over the centuries because generally it is kings who visit kings, not the hoi poloi (that is you and me). There came to be three because we read that three gifts were presented to the infant Jesus: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

But I think that we can understand that these magi, these wise men, these kings of the stars were not just seeking to bring new baby gifts.

Time to Celebrate Our 240th AnniversaryBy Virginia Amos

Mark your calendar now for Sun-day, February 10, when we will

celebrate the 240th anniversary of Christ Church along with World Mis-sion Sunday.

This activity-packed Sunday will feature specially-commissioned music, the Rev. Gay Jennings, President of the House of Deputies, as our guest preacher at a combined 10:00 a.m. service, reception, display of historic artifacts, and a special appearance from none other than George and Martha Washington.

Read more about World Mission Sunday, February 10, on page 5.

They saw something in that rising star that intrigued them, that caused questions in their hearts, and they felt compelled to seek the answers. If so, I imagine they might have been quite surprised to find the baby Jesus in an unremarkable house. Perhaps, however, finding Jesus was what made more sense than anything they found in King Herod’s palace.

Dorothy Sayers, the British medie-valist, author, and Anglican, was also a playwright. She ponders the wise men’s questions in the first play of her cycle on the life of Jesus Christ, The Man Born to be King.

When the three kings arrive at the inn where Joseph, Mary, and the infant Jesus are staying until Mary is well enough to travel, they each have

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Christ Church children and youth presented a beautiful Christmas Pageant on December 16. A Yuletide feast and cookie exchange followed.

Page 2 ✠ Rejoice ✠ January 2013

Rejoice is the official monthly publication of Christ Church,

Alexandria, Virginia, an Episcopal church in the Diocese of Virginia.

The Rt. Rev. Shannon Johnston Thirteenth Bishop of Virginia

The Rt. Rev. Edwin F. (Ted) Gulick, Jr.Assistant Bishop of Virginia

The Rt. Rev. Susan Ellyn GoffSuffragan Bishop

VestryAnn McMurray, Senior Warden

Dorothy Friedlander, Junior WardenJim Arrison, Treasurer

Anita Arms, John Burns,Elizabeth Dakin, John Kennedy,

John Lawson, Ridge Multop, Natalie Ramirez, Betsy Thompson,

Steve Vajs, Peter Wyckoff

Clergy

The Rev. Pierce Klemmt, Rector

The Rev. Ann Gillespie, Senior Associate Rector

The Rev. Heather VanDeventer, Associate Rector for

Faith Formation and Evangelism

The Rev. Dr. Diane Murphy, Priest Associate

John HoggSeminarian

Director of Ministry Resident ProgramThe Rev. Dr. Alvin C. Johnson, Jr.

Director of MusicM. Jason Abel

Christ Church embodies God’s unbounded love by embracing, liberating,

and empowering people, whoever you are and wherever you find yourself

on your journey of faith.

The Rejoice deadline is the third of the month preceding the publication. Please send proposed articles to membership@

ccalex.org. Those accepted are subject to editing for length and content.

Carol Donlan gives her time and talent to edit Rejoice, Craig Keith provides

design and layout, and Linda Dienno is the staff liaison.

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The 218th Annual Diocesan Council will gather at the Hyatt

Hotel in Reston on January 24–26. These meetings and events are open to everyone. Delegates will review and debate resolutions at a pre-Coun-cil meeting on Saturday, January 12 at Christ Church, Richmond. This meeting is also open.

For details, please see the diocesan

Diocesan Council Meeting Will Be in Reston January 24–26

website, www.thediocese.net or contact one of our delegates: Timothy Bele-vetz, Cindi Bartol, Melissa Capers, Paul Doherty, Anne Karoly, Elizabeth Powell, Russ Randle, and Jack Wilm-er in addition to our canonically resi-dent clergy: the Rev. Pierce Klemmt, the Rev. Ann Gillespie, and the Rev. Dr. Diane Murphy.

Members of the Christ Church Choir sang Christmas carols with residents of Goodwin House West on December 15.

Donyelle McCray will be our guest preacher at the 9:00 and 11:15 a.m. services on Sunday, January 20, the Sunday we honor Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. An Episcopal lay-person, she studies Homiletics and Christian Spirituality at Duke University and is currently writing her dissertation on Julian of Norwich. In July, she will join the Virginia Theological Seminary faculty as Assistant Professor of Homiletics and Director of the Office of Multicultural Ministries.

Honoring Dr. King

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Rejoice ✠ January 2013 ✠ Page 3

Dr. King’s Example Leads to Fairness, Respect and Justice

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By the Rev. Pierce Klemmt

This month we celebrate the life of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King,

Jr. I can remember when there was much derision about whether he and his life deserved such national praise by making it a national holiday.

Perhaps more than any other public figure in the last century, he lived and led in a way like none other to remind America of its constitutional roots and sacred spirit and that we be-long to each other. He, more power-fully than any others, understood this because he knew that compassion did not exclude confrontation.

In manuscripts, sermons, and

Linda’s Heading Up the HillDear Friends,Thursday, January 31 will be my last day as a staff member at Christ Church. In February I will move to the Virginia Theological Seminary as the Director of Development.

From the bottom of my heart, thank you for my six—almost seven —years of working for this amazing church that is, at heart, a teach-ing congregation. I have learned invaluable lessons from my experi-ences with the Foundation, and in stewardship, development, and communications. Being able to work with Pierce has been one of the best experiences of my life. The gifts I’ve gained are immeasurable and are now part of the DNA that I will carry with me always.

As I prepare to transition, thoughts about how much this church cares and how much detail goes into what makes this place work roll through my mind like a full-length movie. The church we see on Sunday is but a small slice of the seven-day-a-week, 24-hours-a-day ministry that is

speeches, he told us it was not enough to suffer with the poor, but that we must challenge the people, corpora-tions, and political agreements that cause poverty. My chaplain in school put it this way: “It was Martin’s mes-sage that you cannot set the captives free if you are not willing to confront those who hold the keys.” Without confrontation, compassion becomes

commiseration, or worse, sentimen-tality.

Dr. King also understood that when you confront those who isolate the suffering from their aspirations that you did not need to humiliate your opponents. His unique practice of non-violence could foster triumph of a cause without the humiliation of those who opposed him. Non-violence represented the conditions wherein everyone involved in conflict rises above their own ambitions.

This is an astonishing way to make for peace that has enough steel in the process so everyone wins. God help us to imitate such fairness, respect, and justice in our lives.

Christ Church. From my office, I’ve witnessed the

incredible work of the Lazarus Min-istry that meets here on Wednesdays and Thursdays. (I’ve also brought in our golden retriever Max to be on pastoral care duty to all who want a golden hug while they’re here.) I’ve seen couples come in for pre-marital counseling. I’ve heard the joyous noise of children looking through the kid-friendly lending library. I’ve heard Rose (a.k.a. our director of first

impressions) meet/greet and direct people to everything we offer—from seeing clergy, receiving help from the New Neighbors ESL program, or get-ting to a 12-step program.

I’ve witnessed what our facility as-sistants do to have everything ready and in place for worship services, fellowship gatherings, and special events. The list goes on. It takes a vil-lage to make Christ Church tick.

And because of your generous gifts of time, talent, and treasure, this tick-ing church makes a difference in lives both local and global.

Christ Church is dear to my heart; it was my spiritual home before I joined the staff. Jeff and I will remain parishioners and will see you often in worship, fellowship, and at the forums. Max will be off pastoral care duty, but he will be here for the next Blessing of the Pets.

—Linda Dienno

Linda has served as the Director of Stewardship & Development at Christ Church since April 18, 2006. Her last Sunday as a staff member will be Janu-ary 27. She will be at all four services that day.

Page 4 ✠ Rejoice ✠ January 2013

Treasurer’s Report: The Care and Management Of Christ Church Investments

Jim Arrison, Treasurer

Previously I’ve discussed our siz-able investments apart from the

annual operating budget. These in-vestment accounts are the Reserve, Clergy Housing, Ministry Residents Program (MRP), and Tri-Centennial Trust. Today’s focus is on the manage-ment and care of these accounts.

Authority and responsibility ulti-mately belongs to the vestry, trea-surer, and church trustees by the Constitution and Canons of the Epis-copal Church (Canon 14, Section 2) and the Diocese of Virginia (Canons 12 and 25). Current fund sizes are ap-proximately: 1) Reserve—$800,000; 2) Clergy Housing—$480,000; 3) MRP—$1,200,000; and 4) Tri-Centennial Trust—$185,000.

Five common elements govern each:

1. fiduciaries such as trustees, trea-surer, or other control persons

2. investment managers 3. Investment Policy Statements

(IPS) 4. a securities brokerage company

used by the investment managers5. auditors and vestry to review the

performance of the fiduciaries and their accounts

The treasurer is responsible for the Reserve and Clergy Housing ac-counts. The IPS for each requires management for conservative long term growth. MRP assets are even more conservatively invested, only U.S. government-backed short-du-ration fixed-income investments are allowed by their IPS. Anne Shine, Stetson Tinkam, and Robert L. Mon-tague III are Tri-Centennial Trust trustees. Its IPS is being prepared by the trustees. Trust assets are invested in the Income Fund of America man-aged by American Funds.

Finance committee review of Re-serve, Clergy Housing, and MRP fund performance occurs quarterly and the treasurer updates the vestry. The Tri-Centennial Trust requires annual in-vestment status reporting by trustees to the vestry. Church auditors review this and other activity and include it in their annual report, to the vestry, and Diocese of Virginia.

I hope this brief overview enhances your appreciation for the care given to your generous gifts. In April I’ll focus on the status of our current operating account and planning for fiscal year 2014, which starts on July 1, 2013.

Long-time parishioner and current Strategic Plan committee member Lee Fifer is a nominee for the 2013 Living Legends of Alexandria. His nomination read: “Lee Fifer has worked tirelessly for affordable housing and educational opportunities for Alexandria’s homeless population. He’s been pivotal in raising funds for Carpenter’s Shelter.” Nominees were introduced this month during a concert at Northern Virginia Community College. Winners will be celebrated on March 21 at a Meet the Living Legends Reception at the Patent and Trademark Office.

Foundation Sunday Features One Minute Stewardship Sermons Author By Stetson Tinkham Christ Church Foundation Chairman

Foundation Sunday will be January 27. We are privileged to have as

our guest preacher at the 9:00 and 11:15 a.m. services the Rev. Charles Cloughen, Director of Planned Giv-ing, Stewardship, and Development for the Diocese of Maryland, and author of One Minute Stewardship Sermons.

Please plan to join us to listen to Rev. Cloughen’s message and to learn more about The Foundation, whose mission is to restore, support, benefit, and maintain Christ Church and its buildings and grounds and to assure the faithful execution of the specific terms of gifts made to the church.

Rites of PassageBirths

• Elizabeth Houston, daughter of Anne & Alex Houston

• Nicholas Jeffrey Zahn, son of Matt & Julie Wilmer Zahn, grandson of Jack & Genie Wilmer

• Parker Webster, son of Park & Bri Webster

• Yuta Isaiah Newton, son of Naomi & Chris Newton, grandson of Joanne Newton

• Todd Ellett Koontz, son of Pender & Mark Koontz, grandson of Ted & Lee Ellet

Deaths

• Tazewell Ellett III• Hank Mundy• Scott David Nichols• Mahash Persaud

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Rejoice ✠ January 2013 ✠ Page 5

Three Kingscontinued from page 5

January Forums Give Us Time to Meet, Celebrate, and Learn

a question, “a riddle that torments the world,” that they ask Mary, since Jesus cannot yet speak for himself:

Caspar asks the question of those who search for knowledge, “Shall Wisdom and Love live together at last, when the promised Kingdom comes?”

Melchior asks the question of those in power, “Shall Power and Love dwell together at last, when the promised Kingdom comes?”

And Balthazar, who is tradition-ally portrayed and painted as being of African descent, asks the question of those who work, struggle, and find themselves drowning in the burdens of poverty, “Shall Sorrow and Love be reconciled at last, when the promised Kingdom comes?”

I invite you to sit with Sayers’ ver-sion of Mary’s answer, which along with the kings’ questions hold as much for us today as they did when penned in 1943. Mary says, “These are very difficult questions—but with me, you see, it is like this. When the Angel’s message came to me, the Lord put a song into my heart ... I am quite humbly born, yet the Power of God came upon me; very foolish and unlearned, yet the Word of God was spoken to me; and I was in deep distress, when my Baby was born and filled my life with love. So I know very well that Wisdom and Power and Sorrow can live together with Love; and for me, the Child in my arms is the answer to all the riddles.”

The Mission Committee cordially invites you to

Christ Church’s 240th Anniversary on World Mission Sunday, February 10.

The Rev. Gay Jennings, President of the House of Deputies

will be our guest preacher at a combined 10:00 a.m. service.

Please join us as we celebrate our church history and service to those in need in the world.

By the Rev. Heather VanDeventer

This Epiphany-tide we invite you to get to know those around you,

consider your relationship to money, imagine the mission of the Church, and look at the history of the building of Christ Church.

sions of Christ Church help to build the beloved community.

On January 27, Foundation Sunday (and in prelude to the celebration of our 240th anniversary), John Burns, vestry member and architect, will present a forum looking at our ar-chitecture of the church and campus buildings, as a lens for the overall his-tory of the church. Virginia is blessed with rich collection of colonial-era churches, Christ Church, Alexandria, among them. The architecture of our church reflects the aspirations, the stability, and the evolution of the congregation over the past 240 years, as both the city and the country have grown around it. Congregants of the 1773 church in the woods would undoubtedly be stunned by the sur-rounding blocks, but would still rec-ognize their house of worship today.

Once again, Christ Church is priv-ileged to host Armonia Nova for

its annual Twelfth Night concert on Sunday, January 6 at 6:00 p.m. The ensemble consists of Constance Whi-teside playing medieval and baroque harps, Craig Resta playing vielle and baroque violin, and countertenors

Corey McKnight and Jay White. The concert will include seasonal works from the medieval, renaissance, and baroque eras. The concert is free but a free-will offering will be taken. A reception will follow in the Meade Room.

Armonia Nova Visits Again for Twelfth Night

On January 6, come to the Meade Room for a Making Connections All-Parish Coffee Hour. This gathering, sponsored by the Outreach Commit-tee, is in answer to responses given in last spring’s all-parish survey. Come meet people who are new-to-you at Christ Church, renew old connec-tions, and deepen the bonds of fel-lowship.

On January 13, explore your rela-tionship to money in this preview to the Financial Peace University. Not sure what Financial Peace University is? Come to the Meade Room to hear and see a taste of how you can work on getting into a right use of your fi-nancial and other resources.

On January 20, as part of Martin Luther King weekend, join us in the Meade Room as we imagine the mis-sion of the church and how the mis-

Page 6 ✠ Rejoice ✠ January 2013

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Spiritual Deepening for the Lenten Journey

Lenten Quiet DayFebruary 16

9:30 a.m.–3:00 p.m.Looking at the Lenten gospels

as a way into our own spiritual practice using lectio divina, silence, time for reflection, and guided meditations provided by the Rev. Carlyle Gill. Contact Phil Lyons at [email protected], for more information or to register.

LENTWednesday, February 13— Ash Wednesday7:15 a.m., 12:05 p.m., 7:00 p.m. Holy Eucharist & Imposition of Ash-es (Church)5:00 p.m. Children’s Service Holy Eucharist & Imposition of Ashes (Meade Room)

Sunday, February 17In celebration of George Washing-ton’s birthday, the Washington Bible will be on display (Church)

Wednesday, February 207:15 a.m. & 12:05 p.m. Holy Eucharist (Chapel)

Sunday, February 245:00 p.m. Liturgy of Mourning for the Loss of a Loved One (Church)

Wednesday, February 277:15 a.m. & 12:05 p.m. Holy Eucharist (Chapel)

Sunday, March 35:00 p.m. Choral Evensong with 20-minute organ prelude (Church)

Wednesday, March 67:15 a.m. & 12:05 p.m. Holy Eucharist (Chapel)

Friday, March 87:00 p.m. Service for International Women’s Day (Church)

Wednesday, March 137:15 a.m. & 12:05 p.m. Holy Eucharist (Chapel)

Wednesday, March 207:15 a.m. & 12:05 p.m. Holy Eucharist (Chapel)

This Year’s Early Easter (March 31) Means Lent Starts Early, Too HOLY WEEKSunday, March 24—Palm Sunday7:30 a.m. Liturgy of the Palms & Holy Eucharist (Church)*9:00 a.m. Palm Procession (from Market Square) & Holy Eucharist (Church)*11:15 a.m. Liturgy of the Palms & Holy Eucharist (Church)*5:00 p.m. Meditation on the Passion (Church)

Monday, March 257:15 a.m. & 12:05 p.m. Holy Eucharist (Chapel)

Tuesday, March 267:15 a.m. & 12:05 p.m. Holy Eucharist (Chapel)

Wednesday, March 277:15 a.m. & 12:05 p.m. Holy Eucharist (Chapel)7:00 p.m. Taizé Service (Auditorium)

Thursday, March 28 Maundy Thursday7:15 a.m. & 12:05 p.m. Holy Eucharist (Chapel)5:30 p.m. Middle Eastern Meal and Foot Washing (Auditorium)*7:00 p.m. Holy Eucharist & Stripping of the Altar (Church)*9:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. All-Night Prayer Vigil (last hour of vigil ends at 7:00 a.m.) (Chapel)

Friday, March 29—Good Friday7:15 a.m. Holy Eucharist (Chapel)12:00 noon Good Friday Service (Church)12:00 noon–3:00 p.m. Walk the Labyrinth (McMurray Commons)3:00 p.m. Children’s Service (Auditorium)7:00 p.m. Service of Lamentation (Church)

Saturday, March 30—Holy Saturday10:00 a.m. Liturgy of the Day (Chapel)7:00 p.m. Great Vigil of Easter & Holy Baptism (Church)*

Sunday, March 31—Easter7:30 a.m. Holy Eucharist (Church)*9:00 a.m. Festival Eucharist (Church)*9:00 a.m. Family Service with Holy Eucharist (Auditorium)*11:15 a.m. Festival Eucharist (Church)*5:00 p.m. Holy Eucharist (Church)

* Childcare available

Rejoice ✠ July 2012 ✠ Page 7

Holy Land Trip Offers a Walk in the Footsteps of Jesus

Update on Church and Parish House HVAC RenovationBy Barry Stauffer, Property Committee and HVAC Committee Chair

The HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning) study group

has been meeting frequently since May to evaluate our church systems. This evaluation will be the basis for designing a future system to best serve the needs of Christ Church.

The age and current state of the numerous components making up our HVAC systems makes it ineffective and inefficient to continue maintain-ing them piecemeal; replacing these systems makes the most sense.

After much research the commit-tee decided on the Bid-Design-Build acquisition method. There are several options for meeting our HVAC needs and this acquisition method will al-low us to consider various options as we strive to choose the best one for the church.

To manage the project, five firms were interviewed at length using a consistent set of questions to en-able fair comparison of capabilities. Faithful+Gould, a professional proj-ect management firm, was chosen to assist with this work because of the firm’s long term availability, similar project experience, references, and testing abilities.

Our vestry has been an important partner in the work of the study group. The vestry has been advised of the progress along the way and given input and direction to the group.

A request for proposal (RFP) was created and released to nine prospec-tive bidders in early December. Bids are due on January 18.

A plan of acquisition and other background on the HVAC project is available on the church website at http://www.historicchristchurch.org/about-us/hvac.

By the Rev. Ann Gillespie

A group of parishioners and special friends will be traveling to the

Holy Land in February to take the Palestine of Jesus course at St. George’s College in Jerusalem. (http://www.sgcjerusalem.org/samples/PalestineOfJe-sus.pdf) This is a wonderful way to walk in the footsteps of Jesus, to learn about the historical and archaeologi-cal contexts of 1st century Palestine as well as to have a prayerful pilgrim-age, inhaling the very dust that dis-ciples have breathed over 2,000 years.

Several people have asked if this is a good time to go the Middle East. My emphatic response is this is the most important time to go.

As soon as there is any hint of trouble, many cancel their trips and that has a drastic effect on the lo-cal economies in Israel/Palestine. Also, it is important to be aware how skewed the U.S. media coverage can be around Israel/Palestine issues. BBC coverage of the same event often gives a different perspective.

One of our Christ Church pilgrims is a journalist who has traveled ex-

tensively in the Middle East for work, but looks forward to this time to explore his own spiritual journey. He wrote recently in an email that he is more committed to going than ever. “Besides,” he says, “I have a better chance of being hit by a bus on King Street than I do by a rocket in Israel.”

The Christians in the Holy Land depend on the support of Christians around the world. They are our brothers and sisters in Christ and they hold a Christian presence in the land of the Holy one on our behalf. The Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem models the ministry of Christ in such a beautiful and tangible way – recon-ciliation and peace through education and healthcare to the marginalized. We go to support their ministries and to witness the work that they are do-ing. And we go to listen for what the Spirit has to say to us in that Holy place.

We will listen to the stones both living and dead, both ancient and new, and we will be blogging daily, so stay tuned.

The serving table was overflowing at the Out & About Potluck on December 16 as members and friends shared fellowship and a delicious brunch array. C

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We’re Going Skiing— Hope You’ll Join Us

All youth in 6th through 12th grades are invited on the Youth

Ski Trip January 25–27. We’re head-ing for Bryce Resort for a weekend of skiing/snowboarding, snow tubing, fellowship, and lots of fun.

The trip costs $225 per person, but those who register by January 6, will get an early bird discount: $25 sav-ings per person. There is also a family discount of $25 per family for those registering more than one youth.

Fee covers transportation, lodging, equipment rental (ski or snowboard), lift tickets, snow tubing, and food.

If this is your first time skiing or snowboarding, you are required to take a lesson at the Ski School. Cost: $15. Other Ski School lessons are available to anyone in our group for $15 each.

Make checks payable to Christ Church with Ski Trip written in the memo line. Scholarships are avail-able upon request. Detailed trip in-formation and registration forms are available outside the Teen Center and online at www.ccalex.org/learn/youth. Register by January 6 for the discounted price and no later than January 20 to participate.

Questions? Contact Mary Beth Baylor at [email protected].

Everyone is invited to join us for the biggest football event of the

year. Bring your family, friends, and neighbors on February 3 for a casual, fun-filled evening watching ‘da big game in the Teen Center.

As part of this event, the youth groups will collect canned food for the SOUPer Bowl of Caring food drive. Pizza and drinks will be provided, but please bring some snacks to share dur-

Vacation Bible School at Christ Church June 24–28

Grace Episcopal Church will join us here to offer Vacation Bible

School June 24–28, from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Registration will open in spring. VBS is for children age three through fifth grade. Youth in 6th to 12th grades can participate as volunteer youth counselors. The suc-cess of VBS depends on many willing volunteers. To volunteer or learn more about VBS, contact Mary Beth Baylor at [email protected] or 703-778-4944.

ing the game and canned food to do-nate. Questions? Contact Mary Beth Baylor at [email protected] or Joe Walsh at [email protected].

Super Bowl Party & Food Drive February 3

Online registration for the sum-mer 2013 camp season opens on

January 8. Spaces fill quickly. Shrine Mont is the camp and

conference center for the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia located approxi-mately two hours west of Alexandria.

There are 10 different summer camps for children and youth from 8 to 18- years-old. There are also volunteer and employment opportunities avail-able for youth and young adults.

Visit www.shrinemontcamps.net for more information.

Act Fast to Register for Shrine Mont Summer Camps

At right, the store in a quiet moment before the guest’s arrival. Ninety working-poor families had registered to shop for 202 children in the Christmas Store. Thank you for your donations of gifts, toys, and clothing. Many thanks also to Jane Hess Collins, the Alexandria Convention and Visitors Association, and technicians from Wheel Nut of Alexandria and Bike and Roll of D.C. for their wonderful donation of 20 bicycles and the volunteer hours to build the bicycles for the store.

Christ Child Christmas Store—Many, Many Thanks

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